Strong start, but loses focus and ends with a thud

When this film began I was exhilarated. Not knowing anything about the
film prior to screening, the cast is the first thing to impress.
Visually, it is handsomely mounted. I anticipated another classic
adventure favorite unfolding before me.

Unfortunately the film becomes laden with details and loose threads as
it moves along, and fails to gain steam or provide answers. There are
side stories that are intriguing when introduced, but never pursued.
Then there are "discoveries" which are made much too easily, one
wonders why nobody made them before.

Aneurin Barnard who plays Mariah, the older brother in the family,
appeared to be the next heartthrob-in-the-making; handsome, talented,
appealing. But it isn't to be as I doubt many people will rush to this
film. Michael Sheen is splendid as he hams his way through this film,
but he is unmatched by any other players, mostly due to the troubled
screenplay with which they contend. Sam Neill is wasted in a role of
broad villainous strokes that are tired and worn out.

Other characters appear and then aren't heard from again, supposedly
until the sequel. By the time this film ends, there isn't a coherent
TEAM of triumphant adventurers over a defeated foe, just kids who made
it through a harrowing experience with the help of some grown-ups who
are never strongly defined.

The film shifts abruptly from classic adventure to science fiction,
which is such a bumpy transition, I was thrown off.

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38 out of 58 people found the following review useful:

Family Fantasy Fun!

I don't understand why this film has received such poor reviews. I
personally thought it was a magically fun viewing experience.

The key ingredient to enjoying this film, like other successful films
in the past: "Raiders of the Lost Ark" and "National Treasure", is if
one can imagine archaeological antiquities holding unimaginable super
powers...the door is opened.

The story line was thus believable, production values were high, music
kept the pace, and the acting was superb. Aneurin Barnard was fantastic
as 'Mariah Mundi'! He has such an interesting and emotional look with
the acting chops to really pull off this role (I also loved him in "The
White Queen"). Michael Sheen totally pulled of the character of
'Captain Will Charity'. He was hilarious and deeply serious all at the
same time. Watch him in "Unthinkable" some time and witness what this
thespian has to offer. Lena Headley has cemented her role as a self-
seeking witch (I LOVE GAME OF THRONES, but she always plays the 'Cersi'
role..branch out babe!). Sam Neil was great as always. And I must give
props to the young Xavier Atkins for his portrayal of 'Felix', he was
great.

Overall, if you let your children watch films like "Hugo", they will
enjoy this one!

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17 out of 20 people found the following review useful:

Earnest But Bland

"The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box" introduces us to Mariah
Mundi. He (yes, Mariah is a guy) is the son of a couple who deals with
ancient artifacts. When his parents and younger brother get kidnapped,
Mariah allies with the eccentric and mysterious Captain Will Charity to
locate a certain Midas Box, which their captor Otto Luger desperately
wants to get his hands on.

Actually this film has all the elements that should have made it
succeed. It stars some pretty established actors like Michael Sheen (as
Will Charity) and Sam Neill (as Otto Luger). The lush cinematography
and authentic-looking period production design does not stray far from
previous hits of similar nature like "Sherlock Holmes" or "National
Treasure." There were actually some nifty computer generated visual
effects.

Despite these pluses though, "The Adventurer" still wound up pretty
ordinary as these films go. It probably took itself too seriously to
generate any element of fun, something that other historical detective
films possess. The lead actor who played Mariah lacked charisma to
carry the whole film. This film seems to be targeted to the younger-
than-10 crowd, but I think even these kids expect something more than
this.

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18 out of 22 people found the following review useful:

worth watching and hope there is a sequel

This was a great movie for the whole family. A bit of a sleeper because
it was better than expected. Shame it did not get the adds it should
have so more people could have watched it and perhaps done better at
the box office. I am surprised at the bad reviews on this web site and
hope more people get a chance to see it. I am eager to see a sequel.
The story line was good. The settings were full of interesting things
to see. The cinematography was excellent. Actors did a great job of
making their characters believable. This film took me on a journey, a
true adventure and was not predictable. There was a mysterious air to
this film. I could see some influence from Harry Potter and Indiana
Jones and others but this film was better in keeping your attention
without the use of sex, drugs, foul language, excessively violence or
bloody scenes. Well done.

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10 out of 12 people found the following review useful:

A clean movie for kids

I am surprised at the other reviewers; I think the one point that most
reviewers are missing is that it's a children's movie based on a
children's book. My ten year old son loved it. It's hard to find clean
action-adventure movies that appeal to boys and this one worked well.
Sword fights, near death moments, supernatural content, chase scenes
all without excessive gore, cleavage, or foul language.

Several comments have been made about the poor acting. I didn't see
that. Come on folks, Sam Niell is the main bad guy.

This movie is available on Netflix. There is a sequel in the making and
we'll watch that when it comes out.

A young English man is pulled into an Indiana Jones type of adventure

This is a good, entertaining, slightly-cheesy, mystery/action movie you
can absolutely watch with your kids.

I honestly don't understand the low ratings. Note that it is "Indiana
Jones LIKE" in nature, but Indiana Jones it is not. It is not meant to
be and it is not meant to be taken too seriously.

What it is, is:

1:Fun 2:Clean 3:Well acted (for the most part. I suspect some
characters were meant to be cheesy) 4:well filmed.

I enjoyed it. I feel it's completely safe to watch with young children,
and that is a rare thing. I recommend you give this movie a chance,
ESPECIALLY if you're a parent looking for something you can watch with
your kids that YOU can enjoy at the same time...

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5 out of 6 people found the following review useful:

Young adult action thriller with steampunk and fantastic elements.

The time and place are somewhere that has both steampunk and fantastic
elements. The clothing and cultural affect is late Victorian; the
technology, steam, mechanical, with some electricity, but no
electronics. The dual quests are for a lost brother and a magical,
powerful box.

The Mundi family and Charity are on one side of the quest for the box.
Luger and Monica are on a different side. Charity gains some particular
intelligence about Luger's efforts, plus a broken key relevant to the
box. He relays some information and the pieces of the key. Soon
thereafter, the Mundi family is attacked. Charity helps Mariah escape,
but Charles, Catherine, and Felix are kidnapped. The parents, Charles
and Catherine, and questioned harshly by Luger, and Felix is made to
work in a particular mine.

Mariah works at Luger's hotel to gain intelligence, disguised as a new
porter. He has some success at this, and meets Sacha. After Luger gets
the two broken key pieces from Felix and Mariah, he adds another piece
to complete it. The fun really begins, as Luger gets closer to the box.

-----Scores-----

Cinematography: 8/10 Dark and murky, but well shot.

Sound: 9/10 No problems.

Acting: 7/10 Sam Neill was good, as was Michael Sheen. Aneurin Neuman
grew on me during the film.

Screenplay: 8/10 Moves right along. I'm looking forward to the sequel.
As a YA film, this was fine.

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4 out of 5 people found the following review useful:

Pretty to look at

Obviously over rated but it's a movie with flaws and yet . . . . Only
actors I recognize are Sam Neill, sure he did the film for the money,
and Ioan Gruffudd, a.k.a. Reed Richards and Horatio Hornblower. For 25
million they did get a movie with great sets and fairly good actors.
What they needed was a better screen writer. No doubt if I knew the
book, which I assume is aimed at the YA steampunk audience, I would
have followed the plot with more clarity. This isn't a bad movie but
there are plot jumps that leave you wondering if you missed something
while reaching for some popcorn. Definitely needed those transitions
that are probably on some cutting room floor. While it seems clear this
film was shot with a sequel in mind, you can watch it as a stand alone.
Basically if you are home and it's a rainy or snowy day and you want a
well shot escapist film to watch then this is a contender. Plot is
basic: Before parents disappear they hide two parts of amulet with
their children along with a cryptic warning; younger brother gets taken
by bad guys; older brother goes in search of younger sibling and gets
some help along the way; and relatively happy ending with cliffhanger.
Think of it as Warehouse 13 in 19th Century.

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23 out of 43 people found the following review useful:

UK Cinema has caught the Hollywood disease

How very very sad, to see a UK movie turn out the same as the utter
drivel coming out of Hollywood in recent times. UK Cinema has always
been a safe fallback, guaranteeing a decent story and decent acting.
The Adventurer: The Curse of the Midas Box...not only equals the
lacklustre movies offered by Hollywood, but in some cases surpasses it
for wasting movie lovers time and money. There is absolutely no viable
story, and the script is brutal. Mariah Mundi (Aneurin Barnard), the
supposedly main character, not only figures clues out in 2seconds, when
various so called geniuses have been struggling to do so for a long
time, but he also tells all and sundry the secrets which he has been
sworn to keep. I believe he has a great future ahead of him if he get's
a good agent who will protect him from this sort of career destroying
rubbish. Sam Neill, Michael Sheen,Ioan Gruffudd and Leana Headey, are
all old hands at the movie game and should have some conscience about
foisting this so called movie on their fans, but I suppose money
talks..shame.. Avoid this movie for health and sanity reasons.

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10 out of 18 people found the following review useful:

Doesn't quite go far enough with what it has to give you.

Fantastical, and flamboyant, with a steam punk flare to give it a great
look, and feel. There are many signs of the birth of a new franchise
here. Within the box you have a well polished story, and many fine
actors from all over the world come together. It has all the flare ,
and special effects of Van Helsing, or The League of Extraordinary
Gentlemen Hall﻿ but the mental acuity of The Golden Compass. The story
is whimsical, and feels like it is being told of a different world, not
quite our own, just similar on the outside. I did Enjoy the movie, and
would recommend it to any one of any age, but much more for the younger
more prone to the imaginings, as it should be easier for them to fall
into this world.